Chicago Bears Roster Review: Eben Britton

Dec 1, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Chicago Bears guard Eben Britton (62) against the Minnesota Vikings at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Vikings defeated the Bears 23-20 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bears offseason is in full swing as we head toward the start of the new league year and Free Agency. As a part of our Chicago Bears Roster Review, we’re leading off by looking at Bears Free Agents. New GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox have some tough decisions to make as they reshape the Bears roster in hopes of a bounceback 2015 season.

Eben Britton, RT, Age 27 – Unrestricted Free Agent

2014 Review

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Eben Britton is up next on our roster analysis and in 2014 he made a base salary of $730K with a cap hit of $536K. He appeared in 10 games last season and did not start any of them. He was typically used in heavy formations as a 6th lineman and did a pretty respectable job as a reserve. It’s not easy to rank an offensive lineman with measurables but one big area that’s looked at are penalties. Britton committed 1 holding penalty and no false start penalties in 10 games for the 2014 Bears. He showed versatility and ability to play guard and tackle.

Career

Britton was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2nd round of the 2009 NFL draft out of Arizona, and was considered by many as one of the top lineman in the draft. He played 4 seasons in Jacksonville at RT and LG before coming over to the Bears in 2013. He has played in 50 total games in his career with 34 starts for Jacksonville (2009-12) and Chicago (2013-14) during this time. He has started 23 games at RT, 7 at LG and 4 as a sixth eligible lineman. With the Bears he has appeared in 23 games and started 4 of them with all of his starts coming as a sixth eligible lineman. He has only committed 1 holding penalty in his career and 5 false starts.

2015 Outlook

The offensive line was supposed to be one of the strengths of the 2014 Bears and they underachieved. This was due to poor play, injuries and inconsistent personnel (9 different starter combinations). Once the free agent market shapes itself, the Bears will better understand their options but we can still have fun and give our early analysis.

It will be interesting to see what they do with Britton as he has played both guard and tackle the last two years in Chicago. Britton’s experience coming in as a 6th offensive lineman may appeal to offensive coordinator Adam Gase. It’s no secret that RT was a big problem for the Bears in terms of injury and performance and it wouldn’t be a discussion if we didn’t kick around the possibility of Kyle Long shifting to RT. Until that announcement comes it’s hard to justify not making Britton an offer for the right price. Even if they do shift Long, having a reserve lineman that can play in several positions and formations is pretty critical, especially with an offensive line that was hit with the injury bug last year. Jordan Mills regressed in 2014 causing the Bears to have to use tight ends, lineman and backs to help on the right side. Mills is on the decline and it’s not known just yet if Michael Ola can perform at a high enough level to be a starter, so keeping Britton may be a wise choice for the right price. Of all of the position groups in football, it is arguably the most critical along an offensive line to have communication, consistency and chemistry among personnel. This alone should not be a reason to keep Britton, but should be a consideration. Looking at how frequently the Broncos pulled guards and tackles in their screen game under John Fox and Adam Gase, athleticism is a plus. Will they see this athleticism potential in Britton?

What do you think, Bear fans? Leave a comment below and….BEAR DOWN!

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